Wii U Launch Day Impressions

Just yesterday, the opportunity presented itself to be able to try out the Wii U. A small gathering was arranged with friends to be able to test this system out to see what it was all about. Four of us in total, we all sat and chatted around the TV until the Wii U finished it's initial setups and installs. This process was boring, took way too long, and I'm sure none of you want to hear about it. Let's pretend we didn't spend about a hour and a half waiting to play and get right into this.

Nintendo Land, if you buy the Deluxe Edition of the Wii U (highly recommended) is actually pretty fun. I do think much like Wii Sports, once the novelty wears off, people won't be coming back to it much. It has much more to offer than Wii Sports ever did, and has some clever and fun games. I could picture people getting together and having some laughs over some of the games. After about an hour though, it will likely be put down. Consider Nintendo Land an appetizer of sorts. Considering the experience we ended up having, calling Nintendo Land an appetizer is not a stretch at all. We were just getting started. Some of the games leave a bit more to be desired from them, but is a nice introduction to what the Wii U can do. Now if only Monita (Nintendo Land companion tutorial bot) would not talk as much and stop one from playing and exploring for themselves, that would be great. Really annoying at first but naturally as you progress, she shuts up a bit. Excuse me, let me not say that. She closes her mouth for a bit and lets you enjoy the Nintendo Land experience. Hopefully the "Miiverse Police" didn't see my vulgar language I used there.

Moving on and jokes aside, let's talk about the "main event" game. The one Nintendo gets right, like it or not, every single time. Mario. Is it the same Mario game you have played about three times now? Yes, yes it is. If you have played any of the New Super Mario Bros games, you know exactly what you are getting with this. That's not a bad thing though, and the game looks impressive in HD. You run, you jump, you ride on Yoshi. New fun is provided with the new "Flying Squirrel" suit and the inclusion of Baby Yoshis, all with different abilities to help progress in the game. The game was made with the fans in mind. It's a good thing they put lots of love into this title in particular of the NSMB games, otherwise I would be telling a much different story here.

The most fun actually comes from that 5th player, assuming you have four others as the Mario Bros and the two Toad characters. The person with the gamepad can place platforms to help or hurt you. We had a nice combination of both, and the latter led to quite some funny moments in the game. All while enjoying the best parts of Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3 thrown into a blender. Combine this with one crazy co-op package, also making it in high definition and you have New Super Mario Bros. U. Not much new to be expected, but it's the Mario we all know and love. We spent hours playing the game. If we weren't short on time, I think we would have played through the entire game.

With all being said, the problem is this; will it last? Once that experience is done and over with, what keeps you coming back? Mario is fun and all, but doesn't carry the same reply value as the multiplayer heavy titles of today. The efforts to make this better are there from Nintendo this time around. There is a much stronger focus on the third party titles this time around, much more so than with the original Wii system. For the ones who dismiss first party titles now as being "kids games" you need something to capture that audience looking for something more. Zombie U, Bayonetta 2 (in the future), there is improvement. Nintendo has also shown that they have picked up on social trends with the efforts of Miiverse and TVii. The latter cannot really be talked about though, because apparently said features have been delayed.

One may have a problem calling the Wii U a "next-gen" system, because let's be honest, Nintendo is playing catch up. Regardless though, Nintendo has proven in the past that this doesn't matter as long as you have a decent line-up of games. Nintendo needs to prove just that to gamers and also deliver on the ability to offer a fresh new take on those pre-existing titles, such as Assassin's Creed III and Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge. Give people a reason to want to play these games that probably were already played on previous generation systems. These same concerns have some conflicted about whether or not they want to buy a Wii U. Also, the built in storage space leaves much to be desired. If you plan to buy a Wii U, I would suggest skipping over the "Basic" and buying the "Deluxe".

If you want to see what it looks like, we have a unboxing video for you.

Will Nintendo last in the new generation of gaming, or will people stop caring after a year or two? It shall be a interesting future for Nintendo.

My Take On Wreck-It Ralph

WARNING: I shall attempt to make this post and have it as spoiler proof as possible, but I fear in making some points I want to make that I WILL spoil some points of the movie. If you are okay with this, please read on. You have been warned.

Let's just get one thing out of the way. Whether you come into this movie as a casual or hardcore gamer, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT! I have made two posts in the past about "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" and "Indie Game: The Movie" via Video Gaming Hard Corps, but I approach this post in a slightly different way. The previous two movies are indeed documentaries, while this one is a Disney film that has gotten the attention of several gamers, due to it's several gaming cameos. I am here to tell you that you definitely want to watch this as it is a great movie. I'm also here to tell you that I see more in this movie than most probably do.

Enter Litwak's Arcade. A place that could easily make you think of Funspot Arcade. Also, the owner of the place could make you think of Walter Day (founder of Twin Galaxies). He has the ref uniform and everything. You are instantly treated a nod to the arcade generation of gaming. While some of us wonder what an "Arcade" is nowadays, this movie is entirely based on what goes on behind the scenes of these arcade games. I'm getting ahead of myself a bit here though.

The main focus of the movie from the start is with Ralph. His job, is a crappy one. He is the villain in a video game called Fix-It Felix, Jr. When you get a close look at this game, it looks like Donkey Kong, for sure. Upon starting the game, Ralph comes in with the infamous "I'm Gonna Wreck It!" quote and destroys a building while people panic, and Felix Jr. goes around fixing things. Felix Jr. is also introduced upon starting the game, with a cheesy phrase "I Can Fix It!" and a golden hammer. You get a preview of what the game is like as Ralph tells his sad story. When Felix Jr. does his job in-game, he gets a medal, while Ralph simply gets thrown off the building, being the bad guy and all. When Litwak's Arcade closes, several of the characters in various arcade games in the store all gather in a place known as the Game Central Station as the Wreck-It characters all celebrate in a Penthouse of sorts. Where does that put Ralph? Well, he's just a bad guy in a video game, so he gets a pile of bricks and a stump while everyone else lives the good life. Poor Ralph.

The main plot, told by the trailers, is that Ralph is sick of being the bad guy. He reveals this in what looks to be like a therapy session. A support group, to be more precise, where all the villains of the various arcade games gather. In this very scene, you get various gaming cameos from Zangief, M. Bison, and Bowser, just to name a few. When Ralph makes the aforementioned announcement, the villains are worried that he might "Go Turbo" (this is explained later and main plot point) and they proceed to tell him that bad guys cannot change who they are. On the way back from this meeting, he finds not only the people from his game in the Penthouse as usual, but they are throwing a party. It's the 30th anniversary for the game, and nobody invited him. Ralph attempts to be a part of the party, but eventually Ralph becomes annoyed by the things said to him and does what he does best. Wrecking things. It is at this point where he is told he will never be accepted as the rest, and doesn't earn a medal like Felix does. This sets the tone for the movie.

Now I don't want to get into too many spoilers, so I'm only going to list a few things from time to time to help prove my point I want to eventually make with this post. Ralph's journeys take him into other arcade games. Over time, Litwak's Arcade starts to lose some of it's older games because eventually they become "Out Of Order" which basically means they get phased out and replaced with newer games. The machine will be looked at and repaired if possible, but eventually the arcade cabinets just die out and get replaced accordingly. He travels to "Hero's Duty" (another arcade game) in attempt to win a medal and runs into Sergeant Calhoun who exists in a first person shooter type game. Not only is Calhoun a take nobody's crap type of lady, but Ralph is introduced at this point to a first person shooter type game. His journeys eventually take him to another modern game known as "Sugar Rush" which a candy themed kart racing game. Here he meets Vanellope von Schweetz. She has her own story similar to Ralph's as to why she is not wanted. She is a glitch in the game, and because of this, is treated similar to how Ralph is treated. So the two of them find themselves as friends. Retro and Modern. How about that?

Similar to the above, Felix crosses paths with Sergeant Calhoun, in his attempts to find Ralph. While Ralph is on his journey, suddenly everyone cares. Without Ralph, the game doesn't work right, and is subject to being "Out Of Order" so Felix searches for him. When running into Calhoun, it's a interesting dynamic between the two. Much like Ralph and Vanellope, they hate each other at first, but learn to appreciate one another. That's all I will be saying on that. Once again though, Retro meets Modern. Lots of scenes take place in this journey that eventually has all four of these characters in the same place, at the same time. When they work together, they learn to appreciate one another and work better as a team. Vanellope uses her glitching to good use and Felix Jr helps fix broken roads and overall helps Calhoun in situations she otherwise can't seem to handle on her own.

Imagine if gamers stopped complaining about every little thing, and dealt with it? Glitches were awesome back in the day, and you were awesome if you found one. It's bound to happen considering that games now require that much more to make. As long as it isn't game breaking or preventing you from progressing in the game, perhaps it's not so bad. Maybe we can accept those glitches for what they are or simply wait for a patch to likely fix it. With multiplayer, I would say deal with it as well unless a glitch gave one team or the other an unfair advantage somehow, or a certain weapon was overpowered. Not everything is worth complaining about, is my main point here.

Towards the end of the movie, this very point of Retro and Modern both existing in the same world (an arcade world that is), is further proven by something Ralph says. I can't remember the exact quote, but he says something along the lines of Wreck-It Ralph (referring to the game) is now considered a Retro Game, which is basically old, but cool.

This movie, to me, puts out a hidden message that perhaps all types of gamers can exist together. The movie succeeds in doing just that, with cute characters, but an interesting enough story (with gaming cameos and a stupid amount of clever product placement) to make this world a reality - in movie form. It does a good job of showing all types of games, even more modern "violent" games, while keeping it PG. This is a family movie, but also covers many generations of gaming. It's something that can be appreciated by people, no matter how old you are.


Pros:
- A story of being left out

- Several, several gaming cameos

- Clever use of the Konami Code (watch the movie to find out)

- Is a great display of gaming culture, while keeping it PG for all ages to enjoy

- The acting is superb, and you really feel for the characters and their personal struggles

Cons:
- Would have liked to see more of the other gamer cameos perhaps more involved in the movie
- The soundtrack (it's not bad, but there's missed potential here, I'll explain)

This is a great movie, but it isn't going to teach you any lessons like a documentary of sorts. If you are an older gamer, chances are you notice a thing or twenty about this movie. So many things to notice. Rainbow Road anyone? I'll go as far as to say though that kids may see some of this stuff and wonder what it is, and perhaps even be curious enough to play it. Gaming isn't just about your Halos and CoDs, or even about your Zeldas and Marios. It's also about a time where arcades were a big deal, and Pac-Man and Pong was amazing. Although harder to find now, arcades do still exist, and people indeed have fun in them.

There are many gamer related characters featured in this movie. Now while I did put this as a con, I suppose they wanted to focus on their very own video game based characters, which definitely aren't bad. The one that are not original had limited roles, and the most of them are seen casually throughout the movie or just at the support group. Sonic and Q*Bert in particular however, stood out. Sonic because he talks and mentions in Game Central Station that if you die outside of your game, it's game over. Him getting run into and dropping rings was also a plus. Q*Bert talks with both Ralph and Felix Jr. at key points in the plot.

About the soundtrack thing, it could have been better. The reason I say it's missed potential is because this movie does span several gaming generations. They used all modern music. Why not chiptune music as well, to represent the older games? Sure, use Skrillex and Rihanna if you must, but why not some 8-Bit Weapon or Sabrepulse to go with it. Or here's a better idea. Go with Anamanaguchi, and make up for the music you clearly stole for that PIXEL'D app you made sometime back, eh Disney?

In conclusion, this is just one huge gaming appreciation movie that is a must see for gamers. For non-gamers, I would still highly recommend it. It exceeds in doing so much in a mere ninety-three minutes. When this comes out on Blu-Ray, I'M GONNA BUY IT! Expect me to randomly change out "wreck" in place of other words in normal speech, to quote this movie of course, from this point forward.